Category Archives: continuous improvement

What did you learn today?

You don’t have to be in school to learn something every day

If your goal is to get better and do better, then you should be learning something new every day. You don’t have to be in school to be learning.

There are many alternative learning strategies and they can all make a difference. Read a book, take a course. Go to a training session, workshop, seminar or conference. Share stories with other professionals, entrepreneurs, friends and associates.

You can extract lessons from everywhere and everything that’s happening around you, as observer or as participant. Lessons on leadership, management, operating effectiveness, personal relations, salesmanship, marketing or customer service. Most of the valuable lessons are free!

Even during the periods when you’re relaxing, enjoying the recreation or entertainment, pay attention to the strategies, tactics, behaviour, results and consequences.

Maybe you’ll notice like I have, for example, that business is like golf. (See my Blog: Business is like golf) The game of golf frequently reminds me of the important basic principles for success: have a strategy and a plan, execute well, stay focused and avoid mistakes.

So back to my initial question, what did you learn today?

Be better. Do better.

Your Uncle Ralph,Del Chatterson

Check out Uncle Ralph’s books:"Don't Do It the Hard Way" and "The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans" Both are available online or at your favourite bookstore in hard cover, paperback or e-book.

Choose your critics

And maybe still ignore their input

Somewhere in the process you are going to hear from the critics. You may even ask for it. For product development, customer satisfaction, or market testing, you'll be asking, how do you like me so far?

The first step in getting constructive feedback is to choose your critics wisely. Are they relevant to your target audience? Are they knowledgeable, perceptive and willing to contribute?

You still may not like all the answers. But you should not be asking people who are too complementary, kind and generous. You want to be surprised, or disappointed. To learn something you didn’t already know. Maybe you’re worrying about the wrong things. You can try to think like a customer, but it’s better to ask what they’re thinking.

To get valuable feedback from willing critics and retain the right to choose what you use, remember to make two requests at the start:

“I knew that, I do that”

Obviously

Sometimes when you’re working on self-improvement and reading the latest business textbook, or following a self-help advice column or participating in a workshop or seminar from your carefully chosen preferred expert, guru or philosopher king, you may suddenly think, “Hey, that’s obvious. I already knew that. Of course I do that.”

The experts agree! You’re doing it right.

But is that reassuring or disturbing? Good to have your own ideas and approach confirmed or, dammit, I paid too much for something I already know. Does it build your confidence and conviction or seed new doubt and anxiety? Maybe you need to keep searching for better answers?

I’m recommending you choose reassuring, building confidence and conviction. You’re smarter than you think. It’s time to stop searching and researching. Don't let preparation become an excuse for procrastination. Get to work and make the improvements.

But keep learning by doing. Keep developing and adapting your ideas and approach to your own circumstances and capabilities. Nobody knows the possibilities for constant improvement better than you.

Click Here to check out Uncle Ralph’s books, "Don't Do It the Hard Way" and "The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans" Both are available online or at your favourite bookstore in hard cover, paperback or e-book.

Culture of creativity

Encourage feedback

Do you have a suggestion box? Have you done a survey lately?

It is important to get new input and ideas to change your perspective and consider creative and innovative approaches to challenging issues. You cannot possibly have all the answers or even know all the issues that need to be addressed, unless you get adequate feedback from employees and customers.

It is not enough to casually visit, observing, listening, and asking questions. The process needs to be both more formal and more open-ended. Solicit input from those most in the know: employees on the job, customers using the product and those suppliers and service providers with high expectations for you. Ask about processes and performance, relationships and communications, product innovation and quality, customer service and sales support, social and environmental initiatives. Give them the option of anonymous response, in case they think you cannot handle the truth.

Try not to take it personally, unless it is.

Take it all in, use what is useful and be prepared to ignore what is not, but avoid simply confirming your preconceived notions.

Click Here to check out Uncle Ralph’s books, "Don't Do It the Hard Way" and "The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans" Both are available online or at your favourite bookstore in hard cover, paperback or e-book.

It’s another New Year. So what.

You have already looked at too many year-end reviews and predictions for 2016. The consensus seems to be that last year was bad everywhere and 2016 will be worse: more terrorist events and political stupidity, extreme weather and natural disasters, declining market values on all your investments and challenging economic conditions for every industry.

So if you cannot control the environment, what can you do differently this year? It is not enough to just try to stay out of the ditch.

A good general rule is to keep it simple. Focus on just two memorable accomplishments for the year – one personal, one professional. Richard Branson suggests that you refrain from making another to-do list, but work instead on your to-be list. It is more important who you are than what you do.

Work on making memories.

If you look back on 2015, how would you characterize the year? Personally and professionally what were the outstanding memories? Did they just happen or were they your intent? For me personally, it was the year of moving and settling into a new condo and professionally, we finally concluded the long and complicated process to sell a client’s business. Nothing that changed the world, but significant memories for people important to me.

So what will your memories be for 2016? My intent is make a first trip to Africa in an ambitious year of travel adventures and to advance the cause of enlightened entrepreneurship with more dedication to writing, coaching and advocacy.

Of course, more detail is required in the to-do lists and work plans, but I prefer to start with some simple objectives that are easy to remember without getting distracted by “other events”. I recommend the same approach to you.

So Tiger and Phil meet again in Shanghai and the winner is... Phil again!

Should Tiger be worried? The analysts will be talking of a slump, end of his reign, the new Phil becoming number 1. It all adds to the excitement and attraction for fans and golfers everywhere.

No competition is no fun for anybody, and certainly doesn't inspire the players to try harder or do better. Competition is good. It forces us to be wary and keep learning and improving in order to keep winning.

Business consultants and executive coaches often use the line "even Tiger Woods needs to consult with a coach to improve his game". Sounds reasonable and it's true.

Golf guru, David Leadbetter, was recently interviewed in Maclean's magazine. He does coach the pro's as well as teach mere mortals at golf clinics around the world. As he puts it, "I'm a bit like Robin Hood because I rob from the rich and give to the poor." Since he charges up to $10,000 per day (for the guys competing in multi-million dollar tournaments) he can afford to give free advice to kids and young pros.

He did admit though that some golfers are "instructionally challenged" He was not so crude as to use the term LOFT (for "lack of f***ing talent") but he does sometimes suggest maybe they should try tennis.

It's also true for some ambitious new entrepreneurs who need to be told "maybe you should try a real job." Sometimes you just have to be cruel to be kind.

This week's golf news is that Tiger is emerging from the off-season after two months of relaxing with his new daughter and "working on my body to be stronger than ever". Not encouraging news for his competitors on the PGA tour; Tiger is already the most fit and athletic player on the planet.

But like the ambitious entrepreneur his standards are higher than just winning, he wants to make history. He believes in the process of continuous improvement to be the best he can possibly be.

In business it might be called Kaizen or something else, but the successful business leader also knows that it needs to be done. It's not enough to "never quit"; it's necessary to "never stop getting better".

Another victory for Mike Weir last weekend. Four days of golf in the 60's at a tough Arizona desert course. After 3-1/2 years without a win the former Masters champion could have lost his game and faded away. But in a tribute to persistence and dedication to getting better he showed his championship talent and heart at the President's Cup and again on Sunday.

In golf and in business, persistence and dedication to continuous improvement and sticking to the plan will eventually lead to triumph. For a business example see the comments of Darren Entwhistle of Telus.